UVU basketball: Wolverine women cruise to third straight win

UVU senior Kaycee Mansfield looks to drive to the basket on Dec. 4, 2012 against Southern Utah at the UCCU Center in Orem. Mansfield had 16 points and nine rebounds Saturday in a 71-38 win over Chicago State.

Utah Valley University led from start-to-finish in a 71-38 win over Chicago State University on Saturday in the UCCU Center. It's the third straight win for the Wolverines (7-11), who also improved to 2-0 in the Great West Conference.

OREM, Utah — Utah Valley University led from start-to-finish in a 71-38 win over Chicago State University on Saturday in the UCCU Center. It's the third straight win for the Wolverines (7-11), who also improved to 2-0 in the Great West Conference.

Sammie Jensen notched her 13th double-double of the season with another impressive line, scoring 22 points and hauling in 13 rebounds. Kaycee Mansfield finished with 16 points and nine boards, hitting 6-of-8 from the floor, while Tina Doughty had 13 points, five boards and four assists and Taylor Huber added 10 off the bench.

"Tonight showed we can be a pretty good team. We had some possessions, especially on the defensive end, where we were really good," head coach Cathy Nixon said. "It's good to take care of business and get a home win. Hopefully we can build on this and continue to have a number of people contribute."

UVU raced out to an 8-0 lead within the game's first two minutes and stretched it to a 16-3 start before the first media timeout.

Doughty knocked down her second 3-pointer and fourth straight field goal for her 10th point to give UVU a 19-6 lead. The Wolverines hit four of their first six attempts from three, with Huber's triple and a layup from Cydne Gray upping the advantage to 24-8 midway through the first half.

Utah Valley climbed to its largest lead of the half with a Mansfield bucket with 1:18 to go, taking a 40-22 lead into the break. Doughty had 13 points by halftime, Mansfield added 11 and Jensen had nine points and nine boards.

Up 18 with 13 minutes left, the Wolverines used a 9-0 run to take a 57-28 lead with 10:38 to go. UVU led by as much as 34 in the second half.

Utah Valley will play a non-conference game against future WAC opponent CSU Bakersfield on Saturday, Jan. 19, on the road. It's the first of two games this season against the Roadrunners, who will be in Orem on Feb. 27.

James Warnick is an assistant sports information director at Utah Valley University. For more information about Wolverine athletics, visit www.WolverineGreen.com.